Leem,O.K., I am not afraid to admit my mistakes, and I may have acted with undue haste in destroying my FSPaint Copy. Since it obviously upset you, or the fact that I revealed the act of destruction did, I would like to make a truce offer that I think will put things in perspective.However, please!! DO NOT EVER AGAIN refer to me as one of those who "Burns Things Down". Destroying my copy of FSPaint was not a crime. "Burning Things Down" is called Arson and is a crime, at least where I live, and those words in your post came out of the blue and should not have been there. They had to be aimed at me as there were only three of us giving inputs to the subject matter, and it could not have referred to the other person.I have looked at some of your other posts on the forum now, and you seem to be the accepted expert on this program, and a reasonable person.That matter disposed of, I would propose the following.I will purchase a new full featured copy of FSPaint to replace the one I destroyed, and do my level best to give it a fair trial. I only ask that you answer two simple questions.1. How do I get the basic information to learn the program? I am by necessity working from memory here, but as I recall there was essentially no manual with the program, either printed or on the disk. There were a couple of miniature size pages containing one or two simple examples followed by the suggestion that the user go to the FAQ section for any other desired information. Feel free to refute this if I am wrong.2. My computer is set up to use FSX SP1/SP2 with the "Speed" add on, and Vista SP1, which is the configuration last recommended by Microsoft and the now defunct ACES Team. FSPaint version 2 is represented as a full-up Re-Paint program that now covers FSX. I am a retired Aerospace Engineer who was a launch team member for years, and have considerable experience following printed procedures and check-lists. After careful study of the FSPaint information furnished in the package, and whatever else I can pick up, can I then be reasonably expected to construct RePaints of FSX aircraft of a quality that I can post on the forums (as freeware of course), and that will compare favorably with the other uploaded repaints?Question 2 goes to the heart of the matter, and is the most important to me.Thanks,Regards,Thrakete

Hi Thrakete,It was not my intention to offend you.Burning down can also have another meaning then arson.You can burn down someones product or someones reputation . then it means the same as slating.I think this kind of misunderstandings always is the risk of expressing in a non native language.I NEVER offend people delibarately , so whenever you think I do , keep in mind I am a dutchman wich sometimes just translates his own native way of saying, wich always has the risk of being unpolite or rude.This happens vise versa too ,as soon as non Dutch are speaking or writing our langage.We will have to accept this "language-misineterpretations-thing" on international fora.It would not be of great help to the most of the painters if I published knowledge here in dutch or german.Back to what this is really about:1. How do I get the basic information to learn the program?answer: Go to the top menu in FSRepaint (FSR) and you`ll find a tiny pruple book with a questionmark on it. There FSR tells you all.If you still end up with a question , just ask me.2. Can I then be reasonably expected to construct RePaints of FSX aircraft of a quality that I can post on the forums (as freeware of course), and that will compare favorably with the other uploaded repaints?answer: NO using FSR with its own internal editor is not enouch to produce a quality repaint. Using FSR in combination with an external editor like PSP , can be done , but not realtime as with the internal editor.As I stated before FSR is a great tool to be used as a viewer ( finding spots and places )and as a tool to make "help textures" to be used in the real paintingprograms like The Gimp and Paint.net (freeware) or PSP or Photoshop (payware)I have said this before but I would like to emphasize on it once more:FSRepaint offers us a great free -demo and promisses a lot for the full package.There we come to a delicate point, FSR does not really fullfill all its promisses.So whats the use of buying the stuff. ( giving the makers the means and stimulance to continue and improve the product)Simply said, just to reward the makers of this tool ( wich is absolutely vital to have for all serious painters ) NOT for the quiet useless functions it offers in the licenced version.Personally I bought the Full-version but only use the demo ( no risk to mess up things by making silly mistakes , a thing of wich I am very well capable of)Wich version is of FSX is installed or what other add-ons are implemented in your PC is of NO importance for the functionality of FSRFSR just has to be directed to ...........whatever\Microsoft Flightsimlator X\SimObjects\Airplanes no matter the rest of FSX is installed or not , nor where these folders are located.Best regardsLeen de Jager

Leen, Thanks for your reply, and especially the frank answer on the capabilities and limitations of FSPaint. I think you answered all my questions. My apologies for the incorrect spelling of your name in the other post. Several years ago I worked (via the internet) with another Netherlands native named Kees Van Til, who was a KLM pilot, on the development of a more realistic flight dynamics set for the then-current default Flight Sim B737. I think that was for FS2002, so it was a while back. I have since lost touch with him.I have no idea what "slating" means either, so obviously the whole misunderstanding was a native language thing. However, just as a tip; I don't believe that "Burning Down" will be interpreted as you intended in most of the United States, and I have been here for a long time and lived on both coasts. However, since I speak only one language, I can't complain about a slang misunderstanding in communication with someone who is multilingual.As far as any further pursuit of the FSPaint issue, I first have to reconsider whether I really want to get back into this activity. I haven't done a repaint in over ten years, probably longer, so considering the many changes and the DDS files that were introduced in FSX there are numerous other things I must take into account. There is no existing Plug-In for my present editor, Paint Shop Pro, that allows it to access DDS files directly (as far as I can determine). According to what I have read, the original PhotoShop Plug-In worked at one time, but it has now been revised so that it cannot be used in any other editor. There are apparently other work-arounds , but none of these appeal to me because of the extreme number of repetitive extra steps involved.With PhotoShop, it appears that everyone is qualified for a 75% or so discount except people in my "eligibility" group. :( I don't think I can justify to myself paying the "sticker" price for PhotoShop while most of the rest of the world is paying about 1/3 of that, especially considering the limited use I would make of the program. I did a lot of photography in the "wet film" days, but that is no longer true, so I would have to justify it to myself for the FSX repaints only. That reasoning does not compute.Thanks Again,Regards,Thrakete

Hi Thrakete,I would hate to see someone give up on painting especially if they are willing to share with the community I have spent a little time looking at Paint .net and it really does look like a good Free toolVersion 3.10 has support for DDS and looking at the screen shots it seem to have a very famiiar look if you already know PSP or CS3Here is the link for you to judge for yourself http://www.getpaint.net/Regardless of what you decide I wish you all the best .Sure would be interesting to hear about your time as a launch team member :( My Regards Mark

Hi Thrakete,I would hate to see someone give up on painting especially if they are willing to share with the community I have spent a little time looking at Paint .net and it really does look like a good Free toolVersion 3.10 has support for DDS and looking at the screen shots it seem to have a very famiiar look if you already know PSP or CS3Here is the link for you to judge for yourself http://www.getpaint.net/Regardless of what you decide I wish you all the best .Sure would be interesting to hear about your time as a launch team member :( My Regards Mark

Hi again Mark,If you have been following the string, you are up to date on the side issue by now, so I won't discuss it again.I'll definitely take a good look at that link and see how it would fit in with PSP use. I don't know whether you are using FSX/Vista or not, but using DDS files is a radical change from previous paints. After the long absence, I have not found my way around the new texture system yet, and find it somewhat overwhelming. It is often completely different between the default airplanes and some of the add-ons, and my short term ability to retain information has not improved over the years to say the least. :( I haven't given up yet, just looking at the new complications as I encounter them.Briefly, on the Launch team Work:I became a part of the Thor Mid Range Ballistic missile devlopment launch team (Cape Canaveral, no one had eve heard of NASA or Cape Kennedy at the time) in mid 1958 during th "Cold War". After that I worked the Atlas ICBM as a launch team member for 5 years, finally moving into the development of the original Centaur, which was the world's first Hydrogen Fueled Launch Vehicle. Unfortunately the company I worked for had a policy, though unpublished, that if you refused a promotion to management you were considered stagnant in your job and expendable, so I accepted a move into management and away from the hardware. After a year or so of this, I decided I was not ready to move out of the purely technical phase of the industry, so accepted a job with a Federally Funded Non-Profit Corporation with whom I stayed for the next 30 years or so until retirement. There was a 9 year interlude during this time when I worked on the Air Force Space Shuttle Evaluation Team, but most of the rest of the time was on programs that I cannot discuss. This is in spite of the fact that nearly all the information was released to the press years ago. The work was exciting and I enjoyed almost all of it, so i consider myself lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. I can tell you that I worked with a British crew for part of that time.I will stay in touch re my decision, and thanks for your interest and help,Regards,Thrakete